


Of Black Cats and Sewing Needles

by FedoraFerret



Series: Marichat May 2020 [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: ... maybe a little sin we'll see, Aged Up, Angst, Chat's in denial, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Just pure wholesome friendship, Marinette's oblivious, More angst than fluff if we're being honest, No Beta, One of the prompts is Chat Blanc, We die like Chat's done like 5 times now, but c'mon, no sin i promise, these two dorks oh my god, those monsters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 06:35:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23967001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FedoraFerret/pseuds/FedoraFerret
Summary: Snippets in the lives and friendship of Marinette Dupain-Cheng, who is definitely a normal girl living a normal life, and Chat Noir, who is absolutely not famous supermodel Adrien Agreste what would possibly give you that idea?
Relationships: Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng
Series: Marichat May 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1727473
Comments: 2
Kudos: 43





	1. Day 2 - Bell

On the rooftops of Paris, a black cat stalked an unaware little mouse. He had the mouse in his vision as she stood, completely oblivious to his presence, watering her tulips and humming quietly to herself. A smirk graced his lips, and he silently pulled himself fully over the wall to pounce-

“Good morning _minou,_ ” Marinette said, right in the middle of Chat Noir’s vault onto her balcony.

“Gah!” Caught off guard by his quarry’s _apparent_ awareness of his presence, Chat stumbled as he finished pulling himself up and crashed to the ground. “How!?”

“How what?” Marinette turned and smiled sweetly at him, the kind of smile that says ‘I know exactly how what, but I want you to say it anyway because I’m some kind of _psychic monster_ and your humiliation brings me pleasure.’ Chat Noir growled.

“How do you always know when I’m sneaking up on you? Akumas never notice, and other civilians completely miss me when I don’t want to be seen, but you and Ladybug, both of you, _every time!_ ” Chat huffed and Marinette giggled, and he was absolutely _not_ going to acknowledge the fluttering in his heart at that most beautiful sound.

“Woman’s intuition?” Marinette’s answer comes out as more of a guess, and Chat grins. She’s never been a good liar.

“Try again.”

“Why should I tell you, Chat?” She sets her watering can down so her hands can go to her hips. “So you can sneak up on me and crack some lame pun in my ear when I least expect it?”

“Why Princess,” Chat gasps, clapping a hand to his chest. “I would never do such a thing.” Marinette cocks an eyebrow at him. “… I would only very rarely do such a thing. But no, I need to know because it’s dangerous otherwise.”

“Dangerous.” The skepticism drips from her voice like honey. Sweet honey. Her voice is sweet. _Shut up brain._

“Of course. Picture, if you will, I’m mid-battle. The akuma has my Lady hostage, kwami forbid. I need to crawl along the wall using the suction cup boots Ladybug summoned with her Lucky Charm, completely undetected, to free her before her timer is up. But alas!” Chat collapses into one of Marinette’s deck chairs as she watches on, barely hidden amusement at his dramatization, and drapes an arm over his face in anguish. “As I finally close in and prepare to pounce, I’m detected because of whatever _je ne sais quois_ allows you both to notice me, and the villain backhands me into a wall. I fall unconscious, the Miraculous are lost to Hawkmoth, and Paris falls. Tragedy, woe, and strife, all because this poor little kitty didn’t know the fatal flaw in his otherwise flawless sneaking skills.” Chat lifts his arm, grinning and expecting to be met with twinkling blue eyes, but instead of amused, Marinette looks horrified.

“Oh… oh god, I didn’t even think about that.” Marinette sinks into the other chair, staring straight ahead. “You’re right, this could have been disastrous. The fact that you’ve never been caught by anyone else before is an absolute miracle, and I just _assumed_ you would be fine without considering… oh my god, Chat, I’m so sorry.” Her head whips up with that frantic energy he’s come to expect when she starts to spiral. “I should’ve told you as soon as I figured out… you could’ve gotten hurt, you and Ladybug could’ve _failed_ and it would’ve been all my fault-“ her voice becomes higher and louder almost with every word as she works herself into a frenzy, but cuts herself off as Chat reaches over and places a hand on her shoulder.

“Marinette,” he says, staring her in the eye. “It’s fine. Ladybug’s never told me either, and honestly I thought it was just because we were magically linked until you started doing it too. I’m not upset, and it’s hardly your responsibility if something happens to us. Not that it would, because Ladybug and I are awesome.” Chat grins and flexes a little, and is rewarded with a hint of a smile returning to his Princess’s face. “Besides, my entire scenario rested on the absurd idea that _Ladybug_ would be the one captured. That’s only happened, like, once.”

“Yeah, I, uh, I guess you’re right?” Marinette’s eyes fall back to the ground, downcast, and Chat curses the solemn vow he made after Glaciator to kick the ass of anyone who upset her because his legs simply didn’t bend that way. “But I should still tell you now! Just in case, right?”

“You really don’t have to Princess,” Chat assures her. “That was all just me joking around, I don’t _really_ expect it’ll be an issue in the heat of battle.” Even though that exact scenario, enacted far less cheesily and far more terrifying, had played out in his head, oh, about seven thousand four hundred and sixty-two times.

“No, I should.” Marinette nods and sits back up straight, and he knows she’s going to be fine because she’s entered Fix The Problem mode and when that happens it’s not long before everything is better. “It’s… well, it’s your bell.”

“My… bell.” Chat reaches up unconsciously to the bell resting on his collarbone. “You’re joking.”

“It’s very faint, but also distinct,” Marinette explains, a light blush spreading between the freckles on her nose. “The sort of thing anyone would just kind of pick up on if they spent enough time around you. Most people don’t notice it because you’re usually being loud and boisterous and, well, _you_ around them.” Chat rubs his chin in contemplation.

“Hm… well, I’m gonna have to do something about that.” He leans back. “Let’s see… I could hold it still when I’m stalking up, but that would take up my hand… maybe I can get Plagg to take out the clapper instead…” He blinks as the feeling of being stared at-heightened by magic at the moment-sinks in, and he looks at Marinette, who has an incredulous look on her face.

“Why… why would you not just… get rid of the bell?”

“Get rid of it?” Chat Noir stares at her like she’s grown a second head. “I can’t get rid of it. It’s part of my look, my brand, the iconic Chat Noir package!” He jumps up and strikes a picture-perfect modeling pose. “Besides, it ties the entire look together.”

“The look of a fashion disaster?” Oh thank god, sass. Back to normal, no more sad Marinette. Which means he can stop being whatever passes for Serious Chat.

“Of course, that’s the point.” _Suck it, father._

“I will never, ever understand you, Chat Noir.” Marinette shakes her head fondly, reaches over to scratch behind his fake ear which should _not work god DAMNIT Plagg_ , and picks her watering can back up to finish taking care of her plants. “If you’re gonna hang around for a bit you should pop downstairs and get us some scones.”

“As my Princess commands,” Chat grins, giving her a deep bow before heading down the trapdoor.

* * *

A week later, a voice whispers in Marinette’s ear. “Looks like my costume won’t be _bell_ traying me again.” It’s _entirely_ worth the watering can to the face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we go with the main work. If you're just now joining us and wondering why we're starting on day 2, it's because Witch AU didn't fit with my intentions for this story (a long series of loose, mostly disconnected but internally consistent one-shots). It and day 12 will be their own works in the same series.


	2. Day 3 - Mouse

Chat Noir stares at her expectantly, a wide grin on his face.

Marinette stares at his hand in annoyance, fighting to keep her face neutral

The box in his hand doesn’t stare at anything. It is a box. It has no eyes.

“So long story short, Ladybug entrusted me with a few of the Miraculous to keep safe and distribute as we need,” he says, a note of pride in his voice, and her deep displeasure with the situation is overtaken for a moment by her deep displeasure with _whoever his parental figures are_ for leaving her partner so starved for recognition. Also, Master Fu. Good man, good mentor, _incredibly_ inconsiderate of Chat. “She thinks it’s better if she doesn’t know every Miraculous user or have them all with her in case something happens, especially after Miracle Queen outed all of our old teammates.”

“That… seems like a good idea,” Marinette says, and in fairness to her it absolutely had before Chat had gone and grabbed the Mouse _literally first thing_.

“I thought so too,” Chat beamed. “And then I thought hey, if I’m going to have kind of my own handpicked team, why not start with one of my favorite former heroes?”

“Chat-“

“It’d be great. You can come on patrol sometimes, like Rena and Carapace were starting to do, and next time we need the Mouse you and I can _really_ work together,” Chat continued.

“ _Chat-_ “

“I mean it’s just lucky you didn’t get caught by Miracle Queen’s magic. I honestly don’t know if I could’ve stood to punch you, if I would’ve even stood a chance against that big brain of yours-“

“ _MINOU!”_ This time she catches his attention through his rambling. She’s not happy, and now she’s allowing herself to show it. “I’m sorry, _minou_ , but I can’t. I wasn’t at the battle with Miracle Queen but I’m still not Multimouse anymore. I didn’t keep my identity secret.” Chat’s face falls.

“But… I’m the only one who was there. Yeah, you messed up, but there weren’t any real consequences to that if I’m the one giving you the Miraculous.” He grins again, this time a little more weakly. Her expression softens, but she doesn’t relent.

“Even so, if the entire point is supposed to be Ladybug doesn’t know who you choose, that still disqualifies me.”

“I knew some of the old team,” Chat protests. “And I’m pretty sure Master Fu-the Guardian before Ladybug-knew all of them. She can stand to know one of my picks.” He reaches out and takes her hand, turning it over and pressing the box into it with his other hand. His eyes turn pleading, that hungry-kitten-in-the-rain look that she _swears_ has to be one of his powers because no human could possibly pout that adorably. “C’mon Marinette… I need to know that I’m choosing the right people, and I’m really nervous about the others but this is the one I’m absolutely _certain_ on.”

 _Oh,_ chaton. _I would if I could. Someday, I’m gonna be able to tell you who I am, and we can have a good long laugh about this. But until then…_

“I’m sorry, _minou._ ” And she really is. “I wish I could.” And she really does. “I loved being Multimouse.” That one is significantly less true, but only because she was too busy fretting about Tikki and thinking how much easier 90% of what she was doing would be with her yoyo and a Lucky Charm. “But you know me. I’m a klutz who can barely think about where she’s walking half the time. I’ll just mess up again, and next time it could be so much worse.” She plays the role of unconfident screwup perfectly, eyes on the ground, posture closed off, she even nibbles at her lip a little like she does when she’s really worried because that’s the kind of detail Chat would pick up on. Not for the first time, she curses how good of a liar this double life has made her. With a sigh, Chat takes the box back and lays his other hand on her upper arm.

“Marinette, you are so much _more_ than that.” Marinette looks up in surprise and flushes as she realizes the brilliant green of her partner’s eyes are _much_ closer than she’d expected. “I wish you could see yourself like I do, like your friends do, like _Ladybug_ must have if she trusted you with a Miraculous during one of the most risky battles we’ve ever fought. I saw you outsmart a supervillain almost alone in less than five minutes. I saw you balancing multiple Miraculous like it was nothing, and I don’t know if Ladybug explained this or not but that’s a huge deal. You have everything it takes to be a superhero. But… I won’t force you if you don’t want to.” With a sad smile, he heads back to the trapdoor out of her bedroom. “I guess I need to get going, then. I need to start my list of candidates.”

Marinette nibbles her lip again. This time it’s genuine.

“Chat?”

Chat stops and turns his head, a flicker of hope in his eyes.

“… goodnight.”

“… goodnight, Princess.” And then he’s gone.

Marinette never even vaguely considered giving up Ladybug, not since reclaiming the earrings from Alya and truly defeating Stoneheart. It had become a part of her identity, stress and pressure and the total annihilation of her social life and all. But tonight, just for a moment, for the briefest shadow of a second, she wondered if it wouldn’t be so bad to be Multimouse instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm an absolute sucker for Multichat these days (also Multimouse is my favorite design for Marinette), but this is a Marichat fic, so I'll just cry and put Mullo away for a rainy day.


	3. Day 4 - Thief

“Eat.”

Marinette blinks in confusion as she looks up and sees Chat Noir standing next to her, and then at the greasy paper bag in his hand.

“Isn’t that usually my line, _minou?_ ” She flashes him a smile, but he doesn’t return it.

“What time is it, Marinette? Top of your head, random guess, no clocks.”

“Um…” Marinette has to think for a moment, which is never a good sign. “Maybe five?”

“Try midnight.” Marinette gapes. “My patrol route took me by here twice this evening and I saw you working in your window, at four and then at six. I swung by at eight, then nine, then ten because I thought you might want to hang out. You’d barely moved from that chair, and you didn’t even notice my knocking. I know how you get, and I figured you’ve probably been in a designing frenzy since you got home from school.”

This wasn’t strictly true. While the events he described _had_ technically happened, he’d already known that was what was happening because Marinette had been babbling at him, Alya and Nino all day about a design competition that she wasn’t ready for, no inspiration, no time really, she might as well not bother entering… until last period, when she got that telltale glint in her eye. He was the only one there to witness it, and while it was encouraging at first, he was also the only one who noticed, as the day turned to evening to night, that Marinette wasn’t responding to the group chat _or_ his own direct texts (as either Adrien or Chat) at all, which was only like her when she was hyperfocused on something. And it was _very_ true that he was familiar with these moods, which was why he came to check on and/or distract her in the first place.

Marinette pursed her lips. “Honestly Chat, it’s not _that_ bad. I just had a stroke of inspiration and I _had_ to follow it or else I would’ve lost it.”

“I know, Princess,” Chat nods, leaning against the desk and setting the bag down (carefully, away from her sketchbook, because he’d made the mistake of ruining something she was working on once and once was exactly enough to learn his lesson). “I’m surrounded by creative types, I understand the process. But still, I figured you probably hadn’t eaten yet, so I got us burgers.” Marinette smiles warmly.

“That’s sweet of you _minou_ , but I’m almost finished with this piece and I’m really not that hungry.” As if on cue, her stomach growled, and Chat had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. “… give me my goddamn burger.”

A few minutes later the pair of them were laid out in Marinette’s bed, arms touching but otherwise definitely _not_ snuggling because that would be intimate and almost romantic even and Chat was definitely loyal to his Lady. They had a laptop playing the latest obscure anime Chat was obsessed with but couldn’t share with his friends as a civilian lest it get out that he was an otaku (this, according to Father, would be Bad For His Image™), a greasy burger each, and he’d gotten Marinette fries as well, because he was a considerate friend like that. It was a familiar scene, although usually with a variety of different foods or pastries, since the two of them became friends back in collége.

At the time, it had been nice to just be able to hang out with her. He liked the Marinette he saw as Chat, the Marinette who reminded him of all the best parts of Ladybug. Not that he didn’t like the shy, quiet Marinette that Adrien had gotten to know and become close with over the years, but even as she opened up to him it was never quite at the level that Chat got to enjoy. There were also things that he could do with her as Chat that Adrien couldn’t. Watching anime in her room at half past midnight, for instance, was something he, as a teenage boy, couldn’t do if he had to walk past her parents to do so. Venting about the stress of balancing home, school and superheroics while the person he loved didn’t love him back was a huge help, and he gladly returned the favor by listening to her rants about some absolute _idiot_ she knew (but refused to name) who she was apparently in love with but was completely oblivious to her affections. And of course…

“… Chat, are you stealing my fries?” It was fun to mess with her.

“Why yes, Princess, yes I am.” Chat smirked as he popped another fry into his mouth.

“You’re the one who bought dinner, why not just get your own fries?” Marinette glared at him and yanked the cup away as he reached for another.

“I simply couldn’t” he replied, snaking his arm around Marinette’s neck with supernatural speed to snag two more fries from her. “I’m can’t have fries.”

“… then _why are you?_ ”

“Because they’re delicious.”

“Then get your own!”

“But I can’t have them.”

Adrien wouldn’t have gotten this reaction. He knows because a few weeks ago he’d done this exact thing to her and only gotten a blush and a polite insistence that he take half of her fries. Which, if he was being perfectly honest, he also enjoyed, because Marinette got flustered when Adrien messed with her and she was cute when flustered. Chat Noir, on the other hand, got to deal with angry Marinette, and she was _fun_ when she was angry. And cute. Did he say cute?

… oh, that could be bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I unashamedly stole this bit from Scrubs. As such, even though I wrote this chapter about a week before the news of his death broke, I'd like to dedicate it to Sam Lloyd. A fantastic actor and from my understanding an all around amazing person who brought me a lot of joy when I was younger.


End file.
